Miller AMA Pro Racing: Saturday Early Report

The AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport field took to the Miller Motorsports Park track at 8 a.m. this morning under big, overcast skies, officially kicking off Round 3 of the championship.

By the time the session had concluded, however, the Utah sun had lit up both the AMA Pro and the World Superbike paddocks, setting temperatures on a slow creep up from 50°F as MMP’s BigM Weekend Presented by Lucas Oil got underway in earnest.

Roadracingworld.com’s Benny Solis topped the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport timesheets this morning, chased by Vesrah Suzuki’s Corey Alexander and Y.E.S./LTD Racing’s David Gaviria, all three of whom were extremely quick in testing here in early May.

Solis and Gaviria have both taken victories already this season, but 17-year-old Alexander is still looking for his career first AMA Pro podium. Knowing he goes well here at Miller, Corey will be determined to change that this weekend.

Celtic Racing/Fast by Ferracci’s PJ Jacobsen – another standout at the series’ early-May test – again put his mark on the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class, besting GEICO Powersports/RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick and Team Latus Motors Racing’s Jason DiSalvo. With regular frontrunners Josh Herrin (Monster Energy Graves Motorsports) and Dane Westby (M4 Suzuki) right behind – and the next eight riders all within a second – the field is primed for today’s qualifying action.

The AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike class was next up on the practice schedule, and the session was owned by reigning class champion Josh Hayes (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha). The two Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammates, Tommy Hayden and Blake Young, followed second and third, with San Diego BMW’s Steve Rapp and M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, still recovering from his get-offs at Round 2, rounding out the top five.